Boston University - Center for Energy and Environmental Studies

EE 520 Environmental Law, Spring, 2004

Rick Reibstein

617 626 1062
rreibste@bu.edu
rickreibstein@rcn.com

This class will provide a survey of the major features of environmental law: the common law, statutory law, administrative law, and relevant procedural and constitutional issues.  We will attempt to fit what is learned into the practical context of what is (political, economic, social, geographic and biological realities and perceptions); and into the ideal context of what should be.  Students will perform legal research and practice advocacy.  The text is The Environmental Law Handbook, Government Institutes, (Handbook).  In addition there are Handout readings from a variety of sources.  (See attachment A).

Readings for Classes 1, 2 and 3.  Handbook:  Chapter 1.  Handout: Section 1.

Class 1:  Basic concepts and various aspects of environmental law.  Global/federal/state/local.  Statutory, regulatory, judicial, policy, practice.  How to do legal research.

For classes 2 - 7:  find a case or law review article relevant to the class.  If a case, write down its citation, write down principles for which it is cited, briefly describe the issues and briefly describe the ruling, and note if it has been overturned or followed in later cases, if any.  If a law review article, explain the premise and point and be as precise about the legal principles involved as you can.  For next two classes: 

Classes 2 and 3:  Common, constitutional and administrative law.  Fundamental rights and responsibilities.  Nuisance, negligence, trespass, products liability.  Rule-making, judicial review.

For Class 4.  Handbook:  Chapters 5 and 6.  Handout:  Section 2.

Class 4:  Authorizations. CWA, CAA, FIFRA.

For Class 5.  Handbook:  Chapters 3, 9 and 12.  Handout:  Section 3.

Class 5:  Management Standards.  RCRA; CERCLA, Emergency Planning.

For Class 6.  Handbook:  Chapters 8 and 14, pp. 713 – 721, 740 – 743, 753 – 758.  Handout: Section 4. 

Class 6.  Right to Know.  EPCRA, TURA, Lead Paint Hazard Reduction Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Hazcom, corporate disclosure. 

For Class 7.  Handbook:  Chapter 2.  Handout, Section 5.

Class 7.  Enforcement Process.  Penalty policies, Consolidated Rules of Procedure, audit policy, incentives to compliance, SEPs.

For Class 8.  Handbook:  Chapters 13 and 16.  Handout: Section 6.

Class 8.  New Regulatory Strategies.  Voluntary programs, negotiation, assistance, pollution prevention, integrated strategies, environmental management systems.

For Class 9, review.

Class 9.  In-class open book examination.

For Class 10.  Handout: Section 7.

Class 10.  Radiation Injury.

For Classes 11 and 12.  Handout:  Section 8.  Select topic for advocacy presentation during Classes 13 and 14.  Write a paper (5 - 10 pages) for handing in with the presentation.  The topic must explain an aspect, issue, or area of environmental law that you think is  important for people to understand if we are to have accelerated environmental progress in the optimal manner.  Advocate for this priority: explain why the focus you have chosen is important to that purpose.   

Classes 11, 12. Future of Environmental Law.  Reform, "Reinvention" or Backlash? Internationalization, extension into new areas.  New economic and accounting principles, investment and purchasing initiatives.  Institutional change agency.  Multistakeholder consensus process.     

For Classes 13 and 14, present the paper on the topic you have selected. 

Office time can be arranged on Thursdays.   

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Handouts - Reibstein, Environmental Law, Spring 2004

Section 1.  Basics and various aspects of environmental law, legal research.

Understanding Environmental Administration and Law

When Smoke Ran Like Water

Living Downstream   

Fletcher v Rylands, Boomer

What Went Wrong, Kletz

Amendments 1 - 10, 14 and 15

Regulatory Road Map

DEP Permit List

Section 2.  CWA and CAA.  Authorizations

MWRA regulations  (SR) 

"Do you Need a Federal Stormwater Permit?"

"Harm-Based Ambient Standards: The Central Feature of the Clean Air Act's

"Stationary Source Regulation", Plater

"Toward Reform" Our Children's Toxic Legacy, Wargo

Section 3.  RCRA and CERCLA, Emergency Planning.

Hotline Training Modules: Haz Waste Identification, Generators.

"Cost Recovery Actions", Rodgers

Pilot Outreach Program for Small Quantity Generators of HW, Brown

Section 4.  RTK.

Form R and Form S

"Encouraging Environmental Accounting Worldwide" Lin Li

Issues Paper #1, Expansion of the TRI

1998 TUR Information Release  (SR)

Email to LS (LeadSafe) America Get the Lead Out listserve "Aftermath of the lead industry's coverup", Scott

Section 5.  Enforcement.

Part 22, Consolidated Rules of Procedure

Policy on SEPs

Audit Policy, Federal Register

Use of ADR

Ethics Issues for EPA Lawyers

FIRST Inspection Report

INECE Newsletter

Section 1018 Enforcement Response Policy

Section 6.  New Regulatory Strategies and Issues

"A Second Chance", Atcheson  (SR)

"EPA Voluntary Compliance Programs", Steinway and Seitz

"Can Corporations be Trusted?" NGO Taskforce  (SR)

"Towards a Management-Based Environmental Policy?", Coglianese & Nash

"Common Sense Initiative Seeks to Simplify", HW Consultant

Keys to Success, Tellus

The Day The Traffic Disappeared

Natural Resources Policy in Bush Administration

As Use of Tiny Materials Grows

Sustainability Reporting Guidelines

Accounting for Environmental Assets

Are your Hazmat People Trained?

Explaining Corporate Environmental Performance: Does Regulation Matter?

Section 7.  Radiation Injury.

"Application of the Supreme Court's Daubert Criteria in Radiation Litigation", Merwin

"Admissibility of Scientific Evidence Post-Daubert", Masten

"Pre-litigation Strategies-Gathering and Preserving Documentary Evidence", Richmond

Section 8.  Potential Futures for and Practical Realities of.

"Exporting Destruction", Rich  (SR)

"The Evolution of Corporate Responsibility", Culpeper

Corporate Scorecard

Books on Responsible Business

"Rights of Statistical People", Heinzerling

Federal Incentives Could Help Promote Land Use that Protects, GAO

Halfway to the Future, Tellus Institute

Sustainable Step Chart "Visioning"

Petrochemicals, the Rise of an Industry, Spitz

"Coordinating Environmental Assistance and Enforcement", Reibstein & Goldberg

"Good Faith as a Fundamental Principal for Relational Environmental Governance", Reibstein

Sustainable Business News email

Gallon Environmental Letter

Environmental Forum articles

New York Times articles

Battelle Verification Program and Green Chemistry